Best fine dining reviews of 2012

Restaurant critic Peter M. Gianotti tastes the best of the best to discover which establishments are truly worth the high price tag. Of all his reviews so far this year, here are his favorite fine dining spots....

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Restaurant critic Peter M. Gianotti tastes the best of the best to discover which establishments are truly worth the high price tag. Of all his reviews so far this year, here are his favorite fine dining spots.

(Credit: Johnny Simon)

Jonathan's Ristorante is one of the restaurants participating in Dine Huntington Restaurant Week 2015.

(Credit: Johnny Simon)

JONATHAN'S RISTORANTE, Huntington

he top appetizer is an excellent, blond fritto misto of calamari, shrimp and zucchini, sent out with anchovy-driven mayo and a light tomato sauce, that encourages you to keep eating.

We say: Jellyfish is an aquatic museum. A party venue. A historic 19th century "cottage." And, oh yes, a restaurant whose kitchen is commanded by all-star chef James McDevitt, its sushi bar under Morimoto alum Johnny Shih.

Tom Colicchio and chef de cuisine Ty Kotz make Topping Rose House locavore central with monthly menus that highlight East End purveyors and farms. A November offering includes spice-roasted lobster is prepared with braised onions, saffron and fennel.

We say: Executive chef Joseph Realmuto's take on Italian, Mediterranean and New American cuisine stays fresh in-season and off. Nick & Toni's emphasized local ingredients before the term "locavore" reached the dictionary.

We say: Kashi S&S adds hibachi cooking to an already lively mix. If you're devoted to the style, flames shooting and metal clanging, here's a fine place to revel in it. But, as at the first Kashi, sushi and sashimi, with some New American additions, are the primary reasons to eat here.

We say: There are favorites, there are classics, there are local hangouts. And, after all the fins and shells, all the steaming and broiling, frying and searing, there's The Plaza Café -- the best seafood house on Long Island.

We say: Sleek as a yacht, Andrra glides into Three Mile Harbor ready to revel. The kitchen veers Mediterranean and Adriatic, with an occasional Aegean side trip, and the smooth ride is courtesy of executive chef and co-owner Sami Krasniqi.

We say: Antonette's Classico does prepare plenty of familiar Italian-American fare and its regional Italian plates from north and south. But it's the handful of Sicilian flavors that immediately makes the newcomer a distinctive destination.

We say: Insignia swaggers into town with headliner confidence and showstopping cost. All that's missing is the casino. You're not here for subtlety, but executive chef Mikhail Apelsinov provides that and, naturally, more.